Preseason Team Rankings: #46

<p>It’s now creeping up on the start of the high school season and we are looking to start our series of previews on some of the best teams in the state. Today, Eric Gardner and Kyler Staley join up to start our deep dive into some of these teams.</p> <p>Our series will take a look at the best teams in the state for each class with our rankings. Starting at #50 and going to #1, we will look at each class ranking across all classes starting now with #46.</p> <p><b>1A #46: Cannelton  </b><br /> The Bulldogs are coming off a 10-14 record with a blowout loss to Northeast Dubois in Sectional to add on top of a lackluster season. They do, however, return their leading scorer and rebounder Rafe Garrett. This “do it all” senior, small forward averaged 18.0 ppg and 6.2 rpg last season. Look for 6ft junior guards Nolan Aders and Dylan Young to take some scoring pressure off Garrett as well. This is a small team and will rely heavily on their shooting in order to compete with Sectional opponents such as Springs Valley and Vincennes Rivet. If Cannelton can knock down their shots consistently this year, they could have an improved season and be one of the more competitive teams in the state. </p> <p><strong>2A #46: Henryville </strong><br /> Though coming off a lackluster 10-14 record and a close Sectional loss to Paoli (56-54), the Hornets will be returning two of their top three scorers from a season ago. This year Henryville will be led by dynamic guard Cole Pirrman (8.2 ppg) and 6ft forward Westin Allen (8.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg). As far as someone who will need to step up, look for JV stud Taylor Guthrie (8.6 ppg) to be a big factor this year. With a regular season schedule looking almost the same, the Hornets have a very good chance to improve from a season ago. Their sectional will be tough with defending 2A Sectional Champs Southwestern (Hanover) standing in their way, however this team has a good crop of talent that can shock the state.</p> <p><strong>3A #46: Monrovia</strong><br /> Monrovia is coming off one of the best seasons in recent memory as they went 19-7 and made it to Regionals. They do lose Max Newman and that will hurt but the emergence of Josh Smith as a high-end scoring threat should help to stem things while guys like Joe Williams and some of the younger talent gets used to Varsity. In 3A, this team should be competitive and especially within their Sectional with Danville, Greencastle, and Tri-West. We know Smith will be able to match or improve his production from last season but there are still quite a few new players that need to step up for this team to keep their streak of 15 or more wins going.</p> <p><strong>4A #46: Noblesville<br /> </strong>The Millers are coming off a solid 13-11 record and a tough sectional loss to Hamilton Southeastern in Sectionals. Noblesville returns only one their top five scorers and are made up of mostly seniors this upcoming season. That returning scorer is 6-2 senior guard/forward Alex Hunt (5.8 ppg). They will need to rely on a bunch of JV guys to step up such as 6-5 sophomore Parker Davis. The incoming seniors this year are going to need to make a leap forward if this team is going to want to compete at the highest level as they will be in for a competitive sectional with Carmel leading the pack. Can the Millers make the necessary improvements to compete this year? It will be interesting to see.</p>